


Those Left Behind

by Syntaria



Category: Escaflowne, Tenkuu no Escalowne, The Vision of Escaflowne
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2014-04-10
Packaged: 2018-01-18 21:44:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1443973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syntaria/pseuds/Syntaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With a blink of an eye, she was taken away from them. Just how did Amano and Yukari react after Hitomi vanished on that fateful day?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Those Left Behind

Within a blink of his eyes, she is gone.

For a moment he can see her. He sees her enveloped in light, floating into the air, she and that strange boy. The one who had saved their lives and almost gotten them killed in the same whirlwind of action that he's still reeling from. But within a second the light is gone and he can no longer see her, no longer hear her, and it feels like the world is collapsing around him.

He can feel Yukari stumbling toward him, to where she was. He can hear the whisper of her name, shaky with disbelief and nerves. He can't tear his eyes away from the heavens, begging, pleading, to wake up from this nightmare. 

Yukari screams at the sky, limping on her sprained ankle, tears streaming down her face. In desperation she drops to her knees, and with her hands trembling, she starts to claw at the ground. He can hear her mumbling under her breath, but it sounds like it's coming from a thousand miles away.

“It's all just some sort of trick”, she's mumbling, “like...like that magic show we saw a few years ago. Flashy lights, all a trick, she's just hiding in the forest.” He can hear her voice rising in pitch with every word, sounding like she's getting closer and closer to hysteria. But the dirt is too hard for her to dig up so, and when he glances down, her fingers have become red from the effort. There's a part of him that's hoping against all hope that maybe she's right. Maybe this is all just some sort of elaborate prank. Maybe she is hiding in some secret hidden door and the light carrying her away was an illusion to fake them out. Yet there's a more sure part of him that knows that if doesn't stop her, all she'll find is more dirt and blood on her fingers.

His body won't move. He just watches her scrape at the dirt, both of them knowing it's a fruitless search and neither of them willing to admit it. Admit that their friend, their Hitomi, is gone. 

Yukari smacks at the ground with her fists in frustration, but she stops trying to dig. Her sobs subside, so that she just sits there, trembling as the shock wears off and settles in again all at once. 

He drops down next to her and grabs a hold of her, squeezing his arms around her in a fierce hug. She turns into his embrace, grasping at the front of his shirt. Her body is heaving with the effort to breathe, struggling to cry when there are no tears left.

The starry sky winks down at them as they sit, waiting, hoping that she may drop down from one of the treetops and join them.

\--

He was helping Yukari to the front door, letting her lean on his arm when she needed. She refused to let him carry her to this task. There was dirt crusted on her scrapped knees and stuck under her fingernails. Her fingers themselves were still red, worn raw from her efforts. Her cheeks were splotchy and tracked with tears, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy from crying. Yet she was adamant that they tell Hitomi's mother immediately. He wasn't exactly sure what there was to tell. The truth wasn't exactly something easy to believe. But when he said this, Yukari just looked at the ground, smiling. She wasn't able to lie to Hitomi's mother. 

They sat at the kitchen table, staring at the grain of the wood and trying not to catch her eye. She smiles at them, comforting and reassuring, hand covering Yukari's from across the table. She glances at the clock and comments on how unusual it is for Hitomi to be home late, and especially for Yukari to not be with her. She's teasing her to try and lift the mood, but he can still hear the worry, for both Yukari and Hitomi.

He can't stand to meet her eye, and when she stands up with the intention of making them some tea, he stands to steer her back into her seat. He knows that under normal circumstances she wouldn't allow this. He goes through the motions, working on instinct. He's been making it for his grandfather for years, and he pauses only because this is an unfamiliar kitchen. 

She doesn't ask them questions until the tea is in three steaming cups before them. He looks at her, intent to try and explain. He tries to look comforting but he's so lost, so confused, so scared for her daughter. He knows he can't quite manage it. When he tries to speak, he cannot get the words to come forth. He thinks and all he sees are flashes of fire, of a sword glinting in moonlight, and her terrified eyes staring down at him. 

The chair scrapes against the floor as he pushes it back, and both women look at him, surprised. He walks around the table with his head bowed, until he's in front of her mother. He drops to the floor, kneeling, forehead grazing the floor as he bows. 

“Amano, what are you--” Yukari starts, confused, before he cuts her off.

“I'm so sorry, Mrs. Kanzaki! I'm sorry I couldn't reach her. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect her.”

At first she meets his worlds with silence, until at last, she takes a deep, shuddering breath. 

“What happened?” she asks, voice thick with fear and when he looks at her, he sees that she's glancing between them with desperation. 

He pushes himself off the floor while Yukari starts to explain. He tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. He can feel tears in his eyes but refuses to let them fall, to upset her anymore than he already has. 

He sees a picture of Hitomi hanging on the wall and he can't help but stare at it. She has her arm thrown around her little brother's shoulders, and both of them are sticking their tongues out at the camera. They're laughing, they're together, and they're so happy that it aches to look at. 

He clenches his fist and bows his head as her mother lets out the first of many little sobs.

\--

There's a blinding flash of blue-white light and for a split-second, he can see her. A smile spreads across his lips and he starts to reach out his hand, her name on the tip of his tongue, mouth forming the first syllable.

But then the car rushes around the bend and passes by him, headlights taking the illusion with it. 

There's nobody on the street but him.

He lets his hand drop back down to his side, and his head drops down to gaze at the ground. He hears a soft sound and it takes him a moment to realize it's his own disappointed sigh. 

Standing there under the stars, alone, he starts to laugh. It's a soft, self-deprecating noise that's almost lost in the sound of excited bugs chirping at his presence. The noise grows louder, and he covers his face with one of his hands to muffle it.

It's the same hand that he had stretched out to her in desperation. As he shouted her name, as that blue-white light carried her away from them. He could still see her, eyes wide in terror. He could still hear her calling for him to grab her hand; all he had to do was reach just that little bit farther, please Amano, save me. But he could never reach her, she was too far up by the time he'd reached them. All he could do was watch as she was whisked away, his hand grasping air.

With a blink of an eye, she was gone.

His laughter turned into painful, muffled sobs that shook his body, her name on his lips as his own tears finally started to fall.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for a contest on DevArt. The intent was to focus on the mostly forgotten characters of Escaflowne.  
> This story was originally posted on DevArt, but the account has since been deleted. The first version can be found on FF.Net. This version has been edited slightly, with minor word choice changes for better flow. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a pleasant day.


End file.
